ROME — A Weatherford native preparing to enter the Roman Catholic priesthood participated in the historic canonization Mass for Popes John Paul II and John XXIII.

Pope Francis leads a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on Sunday. Pope Francis has declared his predecessors John XXIII and John Paul II saints in an unprecedented canonization ceremony made even more historic by the presence of retired Pope Benedict XVI. AP Photo
Domenico Stinellis

In an interview from Rome, Deacon Christopher Brashears, 32, said he was one of 60 deacons who distributed Communion to more than 800 bishops Sunday at the Vatican for the canonization ceremony.

Brashears, a seminarian with the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, said he has been studying in Rome four years in preparation for the priesthood.

He said he was moved by the throng of people in Rome to see John Paul II and John XXIII declared saints. According to wire reports, an estimated 1 million people watched the Mass, either from St. Peter’s Square, the streets surrounding it or in nearby piazzas where giant TV screens were set up.

“Coming out of St. Peter’s Basilica, the sea of people filling and flowing from the square, as far as the eye could see, just leveled me,” Brashears said. “All of these faith-filled people came from every part of the world to worship God and to honor two of His servants.”

Sunday’s ceremony was informally dubbed the “day of four popes” because current pontiff Pope Francis and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI participated in the ceremony in which their two predecessors were declared saints.

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by Carla Hinton

Religion Editor

Carla Hinton, an Oklahoma City native, joined The Oklahoman in 1986 as a National Society of Newspaper Editors minority intern. She began reporting full-time for The Oklahoman two years later and has served as a beat writer covering a wide...

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Coming out of St. Peter’s Basilica, the sea of people filling and flowing from the square, as far as the eye could see, just leveled me. All of these faith-filled people came from every part of the world to worship God and to honor two of His servants.”